With just two games left in the regular season including their final home game of the year on Thursday, the Cincinnati Bearcats will attempt to get back on track hosting the Memphis Tigers.

Cincinnati was a 4-point NBA betting odds favorite at home, according to Bovada.

Cincinnati found its stride in the middle of December, putting together a stretch of 15 straight wins that included impressive road upsets over Memphis and Louisville. But over the last five games, the Bearcats have struggled against quality opponents with losses to SMU, Louisville and Connecticut.

[ Cincinnati vs Memphis betting odds matchup report ]

Cincinnati owns the third stingiest scoring defense in the nation allowing only 57.2 points per game and has an explosive offensive superstar in senior guard Sean Kilpatrick, who averages 20.3 points per game. But without much secondary support on offense, Cincinnati has a very slim margin for error

Memphis picked up a strong win last Saturday at home, topping Louisville 72-66 as a 5-point home underdog. The win improved Memphis' home record to 8-0 SU and 5-2 ATS over its last eight games, but road play has been another story for the Tigers. Over their last four games away from home, Memphis is 1-3 SU and 0-3-1 ATS.

The Tigers have a balanced offense that averages 78.6 points per game but usually ends up playing in shootouts with a defense that allows 69.9 points per game.

This matchup looks on paper to be a pretty classic offense vs. defense showdown. Cincinnati went into Memphis as a 5.5-point underdog back at the beginning of January and won the game easily by a final score of 69-53.

Memphis will need to do a much better job of establishing its offense Thursday to earn a better result, but that is easier said than done on the road.

The 69-53 final went UNDER the total as just about all of the games Memphis and Cincinnati have played this year have done. Cincinnati is 18-5 on the UNDER this year while Memphis is 16-9.

These numbers indicate that buckets could be hard to come by on Thursday night.

The Texas Longhorns are 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS over their last five home games and 5-1 ATS in their past six games against Big 12 rival Baylor.

After losing two straight on the road, Texas will try to get back on track at home Wednesday night hosting the Bears. Texas was a 4-point favorite in Wednesday night's game in early Big 12 basketball betting.

From January 11 to February 4, Texas went on an impressive 7-0 SU and 4-3 ATS run that included outright upsets over West Virginia and Baylor on the road and an upset of Kansas at home.

But since that stretch, the Longhorns have lost some momentum with a 2-3 SU and ATS mark with an ugly 85-54 loss on Saturday on the road against Kansas. Texas has failed to make a statement over its recent road tests, but has another shot to pick up an impressive win Wednesday night.

Baylor's Big 12 schedule got off to a disastrous start as the Bears went 2-8 SU and ATS through their first 10 games of conference play. But this month, Baylor appears to have things on track, entering Wednesday's game on a 4-0 SU and 3-0-1 ATS run that was highlighted by an 88-75 road win over West Virginia last Saturday.

Since starting the season off 2-3 SU and 0-5 ATS on the road, Baylor is 3-1 SU and ATS over its last four road tilts.

[ Updated March Madness futures – where is Texas on the list? ]

On paper, these two teams are very evenly matched. Texas scores 76 points per game to Baylor's 75.9, Texas averages 41.9 rebounds per game to Baylor's 39.5, and the Longhorns allow 71 PPG compared to Baylor's 68.6.

The numbers suggest that this should be a close battle, but the last one wasn't as the Longhorns went into Baylor and defeated the Bears 74-60. The two teams are 3-3 SU against each other over their last six meetings, but Texas holds a 5-1 ATS edge in those games.

The total has gone OVER in four of the last five games between Baylor and Texas and in four of Baylor's last five games overall as well.

Considering the offensive makeup of both of these teams, another shootout in this series wouldn't come as a surprise.

The Duke vs. UNC rivalry is one of the most famous rivalries in all of sports and Duke has held the upper hand in recent years with a 7-2 SU and 5-4 ATS edge.

This game was supposed to be played last Wednesday, but was postponed to Thursday due to snow. Duke enters the game as a slight 1.5-point favorite, according to the NCAA college basketball betting lines.

Duke got off on the wrong foot at the start of its ACC schedule with a 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS record that included disappointing road losses to Notre Dame and Clemson. But since that shaky start to conference play, Duke is 8-1 SU and ATS with its only loss coming on the road to Syracuse in a 91-89 overtime thriller.

The Blue Devils rank 20th in the nation in scoring and are led by freshman sensation Jabari Parker, who leads the team in points per game (19.2), rebounds per game (8.7), and blocks per game (1.3). Both teams are riding hot streaks ATS, according to the Duke-UNC betting report.

North Carolina's conference play has followed the same script as Duke. After an ugly 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS start to ACC play, UNC is a perfect 7-0 SU and ATS over its last seven games including road wins over Notre Dame and Florida State and a recent home win over Pittsburgh.

Marcus Page (17.2 PPG) and James Michael McAdoo (14.7 PPG) lead a Tar Heels attack that ranks 65th in the nation with 76 PPG.

Both of these offensive-minded teams have trended towards the OVER recently with the total going OVER in four of Duke's last six games and in seven of UNC's last eight games.

Interestingly, the total has trended in the other direction in recent matchups between Duke and North Carolina with eight of the last 10 games going UNDER.

Over the course of Duke's current 7-2 SU run against North Carolina, the Blue Devils have enjoyed plenty of road success with a 4-1 SU and ATS record at North Carolina including three straight wins.

Both teams enter this game in top form with plenty to prove, setting the stage for another interesting chapter in this intense rivalry.

For more college basketball odds on every game, every game, check out this NCAA line and handicapping site. And study the top online sportsbooks for the best odds on each game as well.

An annual ritual of March Madness is the search for the perfect bracket.

Whether it happens around the office water cooler, at the local watering hole, or as part of the growing number of available online contests, each year basketball fans from across America put their money where their mouth is, boldly predicting the winners in each of the tourney’s games.

There is an extra incentive this year for college ball fans to do a little extra homework in advance of Selection Sunday on March 16. American billionaire Warren Buffett and Cleveland Cavaliers owner and fellow billionaire Dan Gilbert have teamed up to offer a cool $1 billion prize to any lucky fan who can craft a perfect March Madness bracket.

Every office pool has at least one player who each year boasts about how they were “this close to being perfect” in 2006, when No. 11 George Mason knocked off a pair of past NCAA champs en route to an unlikely berth in the Final Four.

But there are no reports of anyone ever backing up their claim of selecting the perfect bracket; to bet on March Madness in this way sees odds that are off the scale.

Of course, that is unlikely to discourage fans from taking up Buffett and Gilbert on their challenge to achieve the impossible. In fact, if there is a basketball fan out there who is astute (or lucky) enough to still have a perfect bracket on Final Four weekend, they can expect to be in attendance at the national championship game.

The final goes April 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and anyone still in the hunt would be accompanied by Buffett himself, whose advice would undoubtedly be welcomed by any overnight billionaire.

Handicappers and bracketologists can get a feel for the quality of the field now by checking out the odds to win the 2014 March Madness for every NCAA team.

The contest is open to residents of the United States, 21 years of age and older. In the unlikely case of someone actually pulling off perfection, they will have the choice of receiving their Buffett Bracket Bonanza in annual payments of $25 million for 40 years or taking a lump sum payment of $500 million.

Prizes are also being offered by Quicken Loans to owners of the top 20 brackets. Each will receive $100,000 from Quicken to buy, refinance, or remodel their home, giving a whole new meaning to the term “betting the house”.

While the road team has covered four straight in this series, Wisconsin (16-2, 3-2) has failed to cover seven of its last nine against the Gophers overall.

Minnesota (14-5, 3-3) is 2-1 at home in conference play, but comes into this one mired in a 1-5 ATS slide at home.

Normally a physically rugged squad, the Badgers average 75.8 points per game this season, an average that’s nearly more than 11 points from last season. Wisconsin leads the conference in offensive efficiency with 1.21 points per possession, and could disrupt Minnesota's scoring defense that ranks eighth in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin is currently ranked ninth nationally and a serious contender in the odds to win the 2013-2014 NCAA basketball championship. But they are just 3-6 ATS in nine recent meetings with their Big Ten rivals from Minnesota.

First-year coach Richard Pitino has his Gophers playing solid defense - when it's on. Minnesota leads the conference in steals per game (8.3) and could be the fly in Wisconsin's offensive ointment at home, where the Gophers allow a mere 62.7 points per game, 13.1 points less than Wisconsin’s average.

They have won seven of eight home games, according to the matchup report.

Prediction:

The Gophers have won three of the last four meetings in Minneapolis, while the host has won six of the last seven meetings. Minnesota owns an 11-1 mark on its own court this season, including last Thursday’s 63-53 upset of then-No. 11 Ohio State 63-53, the Gophers’ last home game.

The last of the conference tournaments begin Thursday as the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big Ten and Big West all get in on the action with opening-round play.

Meanwhile, multiple other tournaments roll on into their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds as the push to a final bracket and an onslaught of March Madness betting odds continues.

Here's a quick look at what's happening today in college hoops, with early NCAA basketball point spreads to ponder.

At the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, in a battle of bubble teams Minnesota was favored early by two points over Illinois; Michigan was favored by 14 points over Penn State; Purdue was favored by six points over Nebraska; and Iowa was favored by 10 points over Northwestern.

At the ACC tournament in Greensboro Georgia Tech was favored by two points over Boston College; North Carolina State was favored by 11 points over Virginia Tech; Maryland, which probably has to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA tournament, was favored by five points over Wake Forest; and Florida State, the defending ACC tournament champion, was favored by two points over Clemson.

And in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn Richmond was favored by four points over Charlotte; Butler was favored by four points over Dayton; St. Joe's was favored by one point over Xavier; and UMass was favored by two points over George Washington.

In quarterfinal play at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City 21-10 Iowa State and 20-10 Oklahoma were listed as a pick 'em; Kansas takes on Texas Tech; Kansas State battles Texas; and Oklahoma State was favored by 2.5 points over Baylor.

In the Pac-12 tournament quarters out in Vegas UCLA was favored by four points over Arizona State; fourth-seeded Arizona goes against fifth-seeded Colorado; second-seeded Cal play Utah; and third-seeded Oregon battles sixth-seeded Washington.

Finally, in second-round play in the SEC tournament in Nashville Georgia was favored by one point over LSU; fifth-seeded Tennessee takes on 13th-seeded Mississippi State; seventh-seeded Arkansas was favored by three points over 10th-seeded Vandy; and sixth-seeded Missouri goes against 11th-seeded Texas A&M.

Tournament play also continues Thursday in Conference USA, the SWAC, the WAC, the MAC, the MEAC, the Great West and the Southland.

If that's not enough to keep basketball bettors occupied, they might want to seek help.

The Atlantic 10 and Conference USA join in on the conference tournament madness, with CUSA starting Wednesday in Tulsa and the A-10 commencing Thursday on a big stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

It ramps the search for college basketball betting odds into even higher gear after numerous titles were decided in recent days and just ahead of the Big Ten and other major conferences launching their post-season playoffs.

The Memphis Tigers went a perfect 16-0 in CUSA play during the regular season, and are understandably heavy favorites to win the conference tournament.

But in the A-10, while the Saint Louis Billikens and VCU Rams top the betting, a half-dozen other teams seem capable of making a run.

The CUSA tournament begins Wednesday with three first round games matching Marshall and Tulane, UAB and SMU, and Houston and Rice.

CUSA will play its tournament semifinals Friday, and the CUSA tournament title game will be played Saturday.

Bodog.eu is listing Memphis, which has won the last two and six of the last seven CUSA tournaments, as a 4/5 favorite to do it again. Southern Miss comes next at 19/10, followed by UTEP at 6/1, Tulsa at 18/1, East Carolina at 20/1, Houston, Tulane and UAB each at 33/1, Marshall and SMU at 66/1 and super longshot Rice at 750/1.

Play begins in the Atlantic 10 tourney Thursday with four first-round games; eighth-seeded Richmond takes on ninth-seeded Charlotte; fifth-seeded Butler, playing in its first A-10 tournament, battles 12th-seeded Dayton; seventh-seeded Xavier, which will probably have to win the conference tournament to keep its seven-season Big Dancing streak alive, goes against 10th-seeded St. Joseph's; and sixth-seeded UMass plays 11th-seeded George Washington.

Friday the top four seeds join in, as St. Louis, VCU (also playing in its first A-10 tourney), Temple and LaSalle take on Thursday's winners.

Saturday's semifinals will narrow the field to two, and the Atlantic 10 tournament championship will be decided Sunday (1 pm ET, CBS).

St. Bonaventure won the A-10 tournament last year as the four seed; this year the Bonnies didn't even quality for the conference tourney, finishing in the bottom four of a beefed-up Atlantic 10.

On the A-10 tournament betting board, Saint Louis is lined as a +175 favorite, followed by VCU at +185, Temple at +350, Butler at +500, LaSalle at +800, Massachusetts and Xavier at +1000, Richmond at +1300, Charlotte and St. Joe's at +1500, Dayton at +2000 and George Washington at +2500.